Sahuaro setter Madi Nash. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

 

Volleyball Play-In Tournament
Thursday, Oct.26

 

Eight teams from Southern Arizona took part in the various conference play-in tournaments Wednesday night, hoping for a spot in the state tournament. Of the eight, only Ironwood Ridge, Cienega and Sahauro will be watching the volleyball bracket show on Saturday.

No. 13 Rincon/University fell 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-20) to No. 20 Skyline in the 6A Play-In Tournament. The Rangers finished another successful season with a 27-12 overall record.

In 5A action, No. 9 Ironwood Ridge swept No. 24 Camelback to advance, as did No. 14 Cienega. The Bobcats went 3-0 (25-10, 25-12, 25-15) over No. 19 Paradise Valley.

No. 18 Sahuaro pulled off a mild upset at No. 15 Marana Mountain View with another 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-19) sweep.

Sahuaro won both region matches against Mountain View this year, including a 3-1 win at home two days ago.

“We were confident because we knew what we were up against coming in,” explained standout setter Madi Nash. “This was the first time we have played in the play-in tournament, but we knew the situation we were in.”

Nash took over setting duties this year after her older sister Morgan Nash moved on to play for Missouri Southern where she is a true-freshman starter, leading her college team with over 10 assists a set.

The Cougars also suffered the loss of Southern Arizona Player of the Year Brielle Sterns who is now at New Mexico State. Sterns has started in 11 matches as a freshman.

The Cougars put together an impressive 35-3 mark and a state semifinal finish last year, but the team has struggled a bit this year with a 10-8 record in power-ranking games which led to a spot in the play-in tournament as a lower seed, but the team survived.

Mountain View and Sahauro played to an 11-11 tie in the first set despite some early unforced errors by the Mountain Lions. The Cougars took advantage of those errors to stay in the set and it helped set the tone as the team went on an 11-0 run to take a 22-11 lead and then a 25-16 win.

It looked like Mountain View was about to tie the match up 1-1 after taking a late 23-20 lead but Nash recorded an assist to her other sister, Abi Nash, and she recorded three kills of her own to take the second set 25-23.

The Cougars slowly pulled away for the 25-19 win in the third set. Unofficially, Madi Nash recorded 17 assists with Abi Nash putting down 12 of those for kills. On the other side, Ashlee Sappington recorded 14 kills for Mountain View.

The standout hitter was almost unstoppable when she was on the floor but Sahuaro made major runs when she was out of the playing rotation, including the late run in the second set. Freshman setter Jaelin Reeb had 22 assists.

Abi Nash committed to play for Lamar next year and Madi Nash will be playing for Pima, in her regular hitting position.

No. 12 Arcadia beat No. 21 Marana 3-0 in the final 5A match featuring a team from Southern Arizona. The Tigers won the 5A Sonoran Region.

In 2A action, No. 17 St. Johns knocked off No. 16 Willcox in five sets (20-25, 13-25, 25-21, 27-25, 15-3) and No. 15 Benosn beat No. 18 Kingman Academy 3-2.

St. Augustine won the 2A South Region and will be watching the bracket show closely.

The 3A Conference Play-In Tournament will be played on Tuesday, Oct. 31. The 4A and 1A conferences do not have play-in tournaments.

No. 4 Salpointe won the 4A Kino Region and No. 29 Palo Verde and No. 22 Pueblo won the 4A Gila Region, but the Titans will get the automatic berth due to a better conference record. No. 8 Nogales should be a safe bet to make the playoffs, but No. 15 Canyon del Oro will be sweating out the bracket show.

No. 7 St. David and No. 11 The Gregory School earned the two automatic berths from the 1A South Region and No. 8 Bowie/San Simon should be safe for an at-large berth.